Originally Posted by
wrk101
Personally, I'm a fan of the Tektro aero levers. I wouldn't use them on my 1974 Paramount. But I have used them on other vintage bikes. Picture from an ebay listing. These come in black or gum. Functionally, I prefer aero levers. But on a top of the line, vintage bike rebuild, not so much. By the late 1980s, many bikes came with aero levers.
I have them on my 1988 Cimarron drop bar bike. Which of course, was a flat bar bike originally.
I agree that Tektro makes good levers - I have a new set of 34X's in the parts stash (decided to go with STIs instead of those and bar ends), plus a couple of sets of Tektro calipers (one installed and in use, the second in the parts stash). And I personally like aero levers and cable routing too - I have them on one late 1990s-vintage bike.
But between removing the other levers, unwrapping the bars, likely replacing the cables and housing, buying and installing the new levers, re-wrapping the bars, and readjusting everything . . . well, to me it just seems that's more work than the modest aero advantage is worth if the existing brakes are in good shape and work well enough. In that case, I'd just put a new set of good shoes on the existing brakes and lube the cables. YMMV.